


Mission Accomplished

by DoctorpooandtheTURDIS



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Because The World Could Do With More Wileven, Blow Jobs, F/M, First Time, Fluff and Smut, Hand Jobs, I'm going to hell for this one, It starts out pretty light, Smut, Vaginal Sex, Well it's Will's first time, but it should all work out at the end, starts getting dark near the middle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:34:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27669611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoctorpooandtheTURDIS/pseuds/DoctorpooandtheTURDIS
Summary: After the events at Starcourt and the move to the new house, Will hatches a plan to cheer El up. At least, that's what it *starts* as, but things snowball from there.
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, It Makes Sense In Context - Relationship, Will Byers/Eleven | Jane Hopper, Will Byers/Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, Will Byers/His Own Subconscious, Will Byers/Mike Wheeler
Comments: 60
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I don't usually write smut. But, I figured, as a writer I should push out of my comfort zone and try new writing experiences, so here it is. I'm pretty proud with the finished product, but again, it's my first time writing smut.
> 
> If you have any suggestions on how to improve, do leave a comment. I want to do this sort of thing again in the future, but I don't just want to wind up making the same mistakes. So, love it, hate it, feel mildly indifferent to it, let me know what you think.

Will Byers was, simply put, caught _deep_ in a trap of his own making. It had all started innocently enough. Three months after Starcourt and the move to the new house far from Hawkins, El was… not doing well. She’d managed alright enough during the first three months after Hopper died, having Mike and the rest of the Party there to help her through the grief.

Mike would typically come over, or Dustin, or Max, even Lucas visited a couple of times to show that they were all there for her. They were her friends, and that support system was something she needed direly, especially after the months went by and her powers didn’t seem to be making a comeback. Slowly but surely, things started looking up.

And then the move happened, and El had gotten worse than he’d ever seen her.

Not that Will was especially close to El. Quite the opposite. Even after the gate had been closed all the way up to summer of ’85, he’d never really interacted with her while Mike wasn’t around. The closest thing they had in common at all was that they both knew Mike, and very little beyond that. Even when Joyce had taken El in to make sure she had someplace safe to live, El and Will didn’t interact all that much.

Odd, given that they both lived under the same roof. But, in fairness, she was closer to the others than she’d ever been with him and, in his own defense, he’d never really made an effort to seek out her friendship. He was more thankful than he could ever explain that she’d saved him those two years ago (which felt like a lifetime), but they just didn’t… know each other.

Being so far away from the others, Will could see that El’s mood had taken a sharp, sharp dive. Not only was she still mourning Hopper, a state only newly refreshed by her discovery of that letter he’d written out, but now she was hours away from the only friends she’d ever known. They could still talk, yes, but distance meant those talks would become much rarer than they had been.

Long-distance calls were expensive, it wasn’t going to be a practice they’d be able to keep up.

So, the responsibility of being the one there to support El naturally fell to Will. Joyce did what she could, but she was working ever harder to keep the family afloat during the period after the move, and Jonathan was the same, working shifts just like his mother.

Will wasn’t going to lie, at first, he was _not_ thrilled. Even being as kind and caring a person as he was, he had _no_ idea what he was doing.

…but then he started looking, really looking, and El just looked so… sad, drained…

 _Depressed,_ even.

So, Will resolved, since Mike couldn’t be there, he’d have to be the next best thing. And he’d try his hardest, no matter what. Even if he couldn’t cure the pain, which he knew wasn’t going to happen, he was going to try his best to make sure it wasn’t as bad.

Operation Cheer El Up was a go.

* * *

It’s slow going at first, and part of Will thinks that El may not even _want_ to be happy at this point, but he tries, and tries, and eventually, just a few days after the move, he makes headway.

Will started off by getting El to watch ‘Airplane!’ the movie that was so over-the-top that he physically couldn’t hold back laughter every time he watched it.

El is a bit confused at first. The things Hopper really preferred watching with her were soap operas and shows like ‘The A-Team’ and ‘Magnum P.I.’

Will’s half worried El won’t like it, and his first tries to get El at least in a somewhat joyous state would be doomed to crash and burn, like the airplane in the movie coincidentally.

But then, the super-serious Leslie Neilson, who El mainly recognized from the serious movies she watched with Hopper, popped on screen, and for a moment, El looked like she was about to burst into tears.

And then the man starts removing the eggs from one of the passenger’s mouth, El growing befuddled as each one was replaced, and then he cracks one on the side of a cup and a bird goes flying around, chirping as loud as it can.

El can’t help it, and she dies laughing.

Will sat there, looking on with his own slight smile, happy that he’s beginning to make headway. Also, he notes, El had one of the most _beautiful,_ vibrant smiles he had ever seen, and a laugh to match.

He only regrets he hadn’t seen it before now.

* * *

Over the course of the next few months, El starts to open up more and more thanks to Will’s efforts. In that span of time, he learns more about her than even he expected. Despite having been quiet and shy for a good chunk of the time he’d known her, once she actually got comfortable being around the Byers, she proved to be a very boisterous, very ebullient person.

She loved to sing, she loved to play around, she loved… everything, it seemed. There was very little on the planet it seemed that made El unhappy, save for lying, the obvious talk of the Lab, the Upside Down, and everything that had happened that summer.

Even talking about Mike, who was hours away, made El’s face shine like a star, and her eyes sparkle like jewels.

Will likes to think that this whole thing is working, that maybe for _once_ something in this world is going the way he expected, and not in the bad way of expecting a fight or whatnot.

But, of course, it wasn’t that easy.

It was _never_ that easy.

* * *

Will, he thinks in his own mind, is starting to get close to El. _DANGEROUSLY_ close. Mike was half-right when he threw the accusation that Will didn’t even like girls in his face.

He hadn’t liked girls in _that_ way, and certainly not _just_ girls. Will thinks it probably has something to do with the hell he went through stunting his development. Not that it was his own fault, not like he could control the machinations of an Elder God from another dimension, but whatever the cause, he just never felt those urges.

But the problem is, he’s feeling them _now_. At the most inopportune moment, when his first concern is trying to make El _happy,_ not trying to get into her pants. Especially not when he _knows_ she loves Mike.

Cursed late puberty hormones only kicking in once he’s somewhere he _doesn’t_ want them to kick in, instead of the other way around.

He catches sight of El, fresh from the shower, wrapped in a towel, and he scrambles to lock himself in his room.

He is in _deep_ shit.

* * *

Will, desperately trying to keep his raging hormones under control, locks up and backs off from El. She looks confused and slightly hurt every time he inches away from her, ducks out of the way as she passes by, and keeps from making eye contact.

He wonders what’s going on inside her head. He _wishes_ he could tell her, but he could never do that. Never put her in that position, and never do that to Mike.

Will just needs to hold out until everything calms down.

* * *

Then, El corners him. Because of _course_ she does. She really doesn’t have a sense of boundaries and doesn’t quite understand that if someone is avoiding you, perhaps the last thing you should do is twist their arm into talking.

Then again, it’s not like she has a _choice._ Not with Will clamming up every time she tries to talk to him like a normal person.

“You’re avoiding me.” El accuses with that petulant look on her face that Will finds absolutely _adorable_ -

No, dammit! This is an alert, condition Red, he has to get the hell out of there, pronto, and as safely as he can.

“What?” Will swallowed. “No-“ He stammered, desperately feeling the wall behind him for the doorway to his bedroom. “No I’m not.”

El’s eyes narrowed. “You’re _lying._ ” She hissed, poking him in the sternum, and Will jumps as his back hits the wall.

He’s praying to whatever god that’s out there that she doesn’t get any closer. Because there’s that part of him that _wants_ her to get closer, and the current part in control wants nothing to do with that other part.

Will swallowed, trying to steady his breathing. “El, I… Please, just… back off.”

El frowns. “You _are_ avoiding me…” She confirmed it for herself. “How come?”

Well, Will ruefully thought to himself, it’s because he’s incapable of maintaining purely platonic feelings for someone he knows is involved with someone else.

“Um, w-well, uh, um…” Will stammered unsurely, as El leaned in to get a closer look at Will’s eyes.

El tilted her head. “Why?”

Will froze like an ice cube, looking down at her. Those big doe eyes, her soft lips, her skin pale from spending all her time inside but just starting to tan…

He can’t take it anymore.

Will, being driven purely by his urges at that point, gently grasps both sides of El’s head and pulls himself in, pressing his lips to hers.

It’s driven purely by hormones and _need,_ and out of the corner of his eye, he can see El’s eyes go the size of dinner plates.

Will’s practically sucking all the air out of her when he finally breaks, and staggers back.

El is standing there, frozen in shock, mouth still parted slightly.

What the hell did he just _do_?

Saying nothing, Will moved to scramble away, when El suddenly grabbed his wrist.

Will froze in shock.

El turns him around, and with her cheeks tinted pink, gently reached up to Will, pulling him back in.

This time, Will is the one to be surprised, eyes going wide as he realized what was happening, before they shut, and he started returning El’s kisses.

He has _no_ idea what’s happening, if it was actually occurring or if it was a dream, but either way, Will didn’t care.

His hands wrapped around El, coming to rest on her back as he pulled her in, neither of them breaking the embrace.

One of his hands, free of his conscious input, drifted down and down, coming to rest on the one of the cheeks of El’s behind.

El took a sharp breath, and Will broke again.

Will shook. “I’m sorry, I-“

“I didn’t say stop.” El seriously retorted, pulling him back in yet again.

Will was thankful that neither Joyce nor Jonathan was there, because if they were, they would’ve put a stop to it. And he didn’t want it to stop. Certainly not now.

And judging by the way El was sucking his face off in return, she didn’t want to stop either.

Running on full autopilot, all his attention devoted to the girl in his arms, Will found the knob of his bedroom door and pushed it open, stumbling back onto his bed.

El pulled back from Will, looking down at the bulge growing in his pants. She looked to his eyes, silently questioning.

“El…” Will shifted trying _not_ to focus on the fact that she was _right on top of him_. She was right _there_ and every one of his senses was going wild. He could feel the heat radiating off her skin, his own goosebumps prickling in response, the rush of blood down to his prick, and the warmth of her breath so, _so_ close to right where he had fantasized her being.

El smiled, so full of warmth, kindness, and even a little bit of lust as she worked to undo the button keeping Will’s most private part hidden from the outside world.

Pulling his underwear down, El watched, mesmerized with hungry eyes as Will’s member stood at attention.

Will’s toes curled as he stiffened. “Maybe we should-“

“Shh…” El hushed him, her breath tickling his earlobe and sending goosebumps down his neck. She leaned down, licking her lips, before she took Will’s rock-hard length into her mouth, not even daring to break eye contact.

Will threw his head back, gasping like a fish out of water as he arched up, pushing slightly into El. He had no clue where she learned how to do that, but he didn’t care. It felt _amazing_ , better than any pleasure he’d ever felt before.

He looked down at her, blinking, as he noticed her undoing the buttons on her blouse, and his eyes bugged out.

El released his now-slick member with a pop and giggled as she leaned up. Oh, because apparently his reactions were _funny_.

“El…” Will tried to find his voice again. “Maybe we should stop…” Because if they don’t, he’s going to have to explain to Mike why he fucked his girlfriend, and maybe, just _maybe_ it’d be easier to talk about if Will and El don’t go all-the-way.

“Quiet.” El commanded, pulling Will’s pants and boxers off in one fluid motion. All that’s left to protect whatever dignity Will’s trying to pretend at having is just a white t-shirt, and soon enough, El gets that off of him as well.

El starts removing the rest of her clothing, starting with her jeans, before shrugging off her hanging blouse. She seems to know _exactly_ what buttons to hit to drive Will mad, and it’s working.

El unclasped her bra, allowing her small breasts to be exposed to the open air, nipples going hard, before she threw the bra to the side, and slipped off her panties, giving Will a perfect view of El’s slick sex.

She placed a gentle hand on Will’s chest, and positioned herself above his dick, the boy aching for release at this point. She seemed to have grown a conscience at this point, and looked to Will, questioning him nonverbally if he wanted to go further.

At that point… there was only one thing his body would allow him to do.

Finding the strength within him to move, he grasped El’s hips, and spun around, so _she_ was the one laying flat on the bed, and _he_ was the one above her.

El’s back hit the sheets and she yelped, breathing heavily as she looked up at Will.

He couldn’t take it anymore. The sweat beads appearing on her skin just from the sheer proximity, the rising and falling of her bare chest from the exhilaration, and her face stuck in that breathless expression…

El’s only warning being Will’s movement, she braced herself, clenching her hands as Will slid into her. Her knuckles went white against the side of the mattress, as Will began to pump.

Soon enough, the creaking of the bed and the breathless moans of the two filled the air as their bodies joined as one.

“Mmm…” El ground her core into Will, trying to get him in deeper. “More.”

 _That_ , especially now, was a request Will was happy to oblige. The boy went all in, holding onto El’s shoulders as he thrust harder.

“Yes…” El approved with a breathless smile. “Like that.”

Will, spurred on by her encouragement, pumped harder, trying to hit that spot he’d heard all girls had. El arched and writhed, moaning loudly like she was crying out to the heavens, as Will sped up.

She wasn’t far, he could tell, and if the pressure building within him was any indication, Will wouldn’t last much longer either.

“El…” Will moaned. “You’re so beautiful.”

El, despite the electric sensations tearing through her, returned it with a smile.

Not long now.

 _“I just want to tell you both: Good luck.”_ The voice from the TV in the living room echoed through the still-open door of the bedroom. _“We’re all counting on you.”_

That almost pulled Will right out of it, but El just looked up at him, into those green-brown eyes, and laughed, sweeter to the ears than any piece of music he could think of.

“You heard him.” El giggled, pulling Will in tighter. “Do it.”

Will nodded, and sped up, pressing his lips to hers again as he felt the pressure build up to cataclysmic levels. Moments later, his whole body locked up, and it was like he could feel El’s own climax as well.

El moaned into Will’s mouth, grasping onto his back so tightly she almost drew blood, as she felt her core fill with Will’s seed.

They broke, and Will looked down to El, breathing like he just got done spending it all underwater.

He rolled off of her, falling onto his back next to her.

El closed her eyes, and pressed her body into Will’s, smiling slightly as he stared up at the ceiling.

“So, done avoiding me?”


	2. Chapter 2

In a perfect world, after Will and El’s little ‘rendezvous’ in his bed, things go back to normal. They never speak of it again, pretend like it never happened, and things go back to _just_ as they were before.

This is not a perfect world.

He saw all of El laid bare before him like it was her birthday, and she saw him in much of the same state. Despite his deepest wishes, things were _not_ going to go back to normal. At least, not on his end.

Because while Will was now in a constant state of Red Alert induced by quite possibly _betraying_ his oldest and deepest friend, El _somehow_ was not bothered in the slightest.

In fact, El seemed to be _deliberately_ taking things up a notch now. Wearing clothes that deliberately showed off skin, licking lollipops and popsicles in purposefully risqué ways, angling herself around Will so he caught glimpses down her shirt…

At that point, Will knew that El knew good and _damn_ well what she was doing. Oh, she liked to act and play all innocent, but she _knew_ about sex.

It wouldn’t be that bad, but for most days, it was just the two of them at the house. El was still having to be homeschooled even though she had a great deal more personal freedom than she ever did in Hawkins, and to make sure El wouldn’t be cooped up all by herself and go stir crazy, and to help her out in case things went wrong while she was home alone, Will chose to go with the homeschooling as well.

A situation that was backfiring horribly upon him now. In fairness, it’s not like he _considered_ something like this would happen, and even if he had at the time, Will still probably would’ve determined that keeping El from falling into a repeat situation similar to her 353-day isolation in Hopper’s cabin was better than things getting a bit complicated.

But things got complicated. Really complicated now. It’d be complicated enough without adding a boyfriend into the equation, and to make matters worse, said boyfriend was Will’s best friend.

Some days, he wondered when his life got so fucked up.

All this had to be fixed. And it had to get fixed _now_ before it could snowball any further. Before a one-time simple fucking like rabbits could turn into making love (Yes, there was a distinction in Will’s mind. Fucking was something to satisfy urges, _making love_ was something you did because you loved someone and couldn’t imagine doing it with anyone else.). If it changed, he was going to be in even _deeper_ shit than he already was.

He could _maybe,_ just maybe salvage the situation now, before it went any further. Before that one-time thing turned into a weekly thing, before it turned into a bi-weekly thing, then an every-other day thing, then a nightly thing, to whenever they just felt like it.

And God _FORBID_ El got pregnant because of Will. He’s sixteen and survived living at the center of a cosmic horror story, but that would be _TOO MUCH._

So, while El went to the shower and he desperately tried to push away the vanilla-bean scent of her body wash Will began anxiously pacing around.

El already knew some things about sex. That’s… good. It means that she’d probably done it with Mike already.

That was a massive weight off his chest, even if the thought made Will inordinately angry for some reason. Mike was El’s first and not Will, at least.

But if that’s the case, why in the **_HELL_** did El decide it was a good idea to seduce Will like that? Mike had to have been smart enough to tell her that it was only something you did with boyfriends-

No, no. Mike was _not_ that smart.

He’s the clever one, yes, thinking up solutions and formulating plans like no one else, but _clever_ and _smart_ are not the same thing.

Yeah, Will could see it now. Mike being all like “This is only something you do with a boy you really like, like me.” Without considering how El might misinterpret that statement. Interpreting it instead to mean that it was fine to do with whoever if you really liked them, instead of something you saved for just one person.

Goddamn Mike. It’s all his fault.

No, no. Will had to remind himself it _wasn’t_ Mike’s fault it was his own. Things probably wouldn’t have gotten this complicated if Will had just-

Then again… He couldn’t really remember if Mike and El _actually_ got back together. She’d kissed him like a lost lover during moving day, but as for making it official… well, it was all a bit of a blur.

Maybe Will didn’t have anything to worry about.

The boy smacked himself in the head. He couldn’t assume anything about anything. You know what they say about assuming. It makes an ass out of you and me.

The water in the bathroom cut out, and Will inhaled. Speaking of asses…

Will smacked himself again. He _had_ to get his mind outta the gutter else this wasn’t going to stop. He had to stop thinking about El in that way. Stop thinking about her legs… her perfectly sculpted behind…

Dammit, didn’t he just say he had to stop.

Will forced himself to focus on the television, the screen currently playing some cartoon thing from Japan, as the smell of vanilla and oranges got stronger.

El smiled as she sat down next to Will.

Still not wearing anything but that _damn towel._

“I-Isn’t that cold?” Will stuttered, hoping that she’d take the hint.

“It is.” El conceded, pressing into Will. “Better now.”

She took the hint alright. The exact _wrong_ hint.

Will anxiously bounced his leg, stopping in his tracks as El began to run a finger up and down his thigh.

“What are you watching?” She inquired.

Well, right now he was trying _not_ to watch _her_.

“It’s…” Will gulped, as the one finger became her entire hand. “It’s… Mobile Suit Gundam. It’s an anime.” The Byers had moved in next to a guy named Matt, a dude who _loved_ television programs from abroad. As a housewarming gift he’d given them a VCR and some stuff to watch on it.

“Anime.” El repeated, placing her head on Will’s shoulder as she continued. “It’s a cartoon.”

“It’s supposed to be for older people, not kids.” Will hoarsely defended as El’s hand inched closer to his crotch.

El sarcastically grinned. “Is _that_ what they told you?”

“It’s a fact.” Will gulped.

“Hm.” El nodded, as she slipped her hand down the front of Will’s sweatpants, under the band of his underwear.

El’s hand wrapped around the shaft of Will’s stiffening cock, and the boy himself went as stiff as a board.

El smiled again, as she noticed she got a reaction out of Will. Slowly, she began to move her hand up and down.

Will sat there, unmoving. He didn’t _want_ to move, not with her soft hand wrapped securely around his member.

But he’d told himself it would stop.

“El…” Will groaned. “Stop.”

The girl tilted her head but kept moving. “Why?”

“Because!” He grabbed her arm, pulling her hand out of his trousers. “Mike’s your boyfriend! You should be doing stuff like this with him, not _me!_ ”

El tilted her head. “I don’t understand.”

Will spluttered. “What is there to not understand!? I’m not your boyfriend, he is!”

“You _are_ my boyfriend.” El stated with resolve.

“El…” Will began slowly, raising an eyebrow. “What do you think a boyfriend _is_?”

El drew her lips into a frustrated line, not pleased about being interrupted. “Boyfriend is a special friend you spend a lot of time with and do special things with.” She explained. “Mike said he may have been my friend but because we kissed and spent time together that made him a _boy_ friend. I spend time with you, you kissed me, that makes you _boyfriend._ ” She insisted, placing her hand back.

“El!” Will squeaked as she continued jerking him off. “S-“

“Shh.” El ordered, pressing her lips to his.

Will squirmed as El’s tongue danced around his and the pumping of her hand sent tickles throughout his frame.

Perhaps unconsciously, his hand slipped under her towel, and he began rubbing circles into the still slightly damp skin on her back.

Like a dam about to break, he could feel it coming, before the floodgates opened, and he sent spurts of sticky goo flying in his pants.

El removed her hand and broke the kiss, looking at her fingers which had been slightly coated in some of Will’s come.

The girl looked Will dead in the eyes as she licked each one of her fingers clean, releasing each one with an exaggerated, wet pop. El smiled again, letting out a happy sigh as she cuddled up to Will.

Will, meanwhile, while feeling the relief of release, was also freaking out. Leave it to Mike, in his self-proclaimed job of being El’s teacher of the outside world, to leave out vital context about something.

El probably thought boyfriend was just like regular friends except more important, like best friends. In all likelihood, Mike probably hadn’t had the foresight to explain that when he wanted to be El’s boyfriend, there could only be _one_ , not many, unlike regular friends. And God knows Hopper wasn’t a fan about the whole dating thing to begin with, so he probably didn’t even bother trying to explain to El the details of it.

…So, instead of Mike killing Will, the situation was now reversed. Will was going to _kill_ Mike for giving a half-assed explanation to El and leaving Will to pick up the pieces.

That is, if Will could find the strength to get her to stop, first.


	3. My Angel, You Put The Devil In Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IN THIS EXCITING INSTALLMENT: WILL MAKES BAD CHOICES! Then again, how is that any different than normal?
> 
> Named after this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_H56PXyD5Ek

That grave Will’s dug himself into is getting deeper and deeper by the day. Every day he doesn’t try to explain to El _why_ he and her having a sexual relationship is a bad idea, it’s another day where he could’ve solved the problem and chose not to.

In Will’s defense… this is the closest he can get to actually being in a relationship with El.

…okay, no matter how he tried to cut that, it sounded bad.

It was selfish, he knew. And cruel in more than a thousand different ways. But he loved being around her, just loved the person she was…

He loved _her_. He’s not so stupid as to think a couple of months being cooped up to the point of boiling sexual tension constitutes love. No, Will felt a different sort of butterflies when she _wasn’t_ trying to have her way with him. The sort of butterflies you get when you’re always on the exact same page as someone, know them better than you know yourself, and the world just seems to grow brighter in their presence.

And that’s why, even though he’s told himself time and time again, made promises to himself to stop it in its tracks and explain to her why it’s a bad idea, it keeps happening.

Not that excuses it. But Will has to have a reason, otherwise, it’s just him being cruel.

That’s what Will thinks about when trying to fall asleep, El so far away in the next room, yet still so close.

Which is either a good, or bad, thing when he does finally drift away.

\-----------

Will’s never lucid dreamed. Oh, he’s realized he was in a dream before _plenty_ of times, but it usually never lasted beyond that.

Not this time. While he was taking El over the back of the couch in the living room, he suddenly realized that, no, Big Bird was _not_ a member of their household, and even if he was, he was not supposed to be home.

Will suddenly hits the couch cushion, and jumps, El having vanished into nothing along with Big Bird, with Will’s clothes making a sudden return.

Will sighed and flopped down on the couch. Wouldn’t be long before he woke up now.

“Well, we are in a pickle, aren’t we?” A voice, like Will’s own and higher pitched, came from his shoulder.

Good thing about dreams, when the angel on his shoulder appeared, it usually wasn’t cause to send him to the asylum.

“You’ve _really_ fucked up now.” The tiny reflection of Will, wearing a white suit, berated. “Now you’re _dreaming_ about her. You’re in deep, kid. You’re in deep… which is exactly where you _don’t_ wanna be.”

“Oh, don’t listen to that numpty.” The shoulder Devil appeared, looking rather too much like El garbed in those punk clothes she’d shown up wearing around Halloween of ‘83, ‘innocently’ kicking her feet. “Of course you wanna be in deep. … _DEEP IN THAT PUS-“_

“Quiet!” The Angel barked.

“Hm… Make me.” The Devil retorted with a salacious grin.

The Angel shook, clenching his fist. “Give me a whip and I will. Oh, wait, you’d be into that, wouldn’t you?”

“Oh…” The Devil licked her lips. “That a promise?”

“GUYS, GUYS!” Will shouted, seething angrily. He held up his hands, trying to calm down. “I have problems… and the _last_ thing I want to add to that list is whatever strange flirting-slash-rivalry thing you’ve got going on here!”

“Oh, right, you _do_ have problems.” The Devil rolled onto her back, shaking her head, before standing up. “But don’t worry, I have the solution to _all_ your problems.”

The Angel snorted. “Don’t listen to her. You’ll make everything worse, I guarantee it.”

“No, _do_ listen to me,” The Devil corrected, “In fact, I’ll give you a couple of reasons why. One, because shut up. Two, I’m a _female,_ and you’re all about those at the moment, aren’t you? Alright, listen up, Big Willy.” The Devil snapped her fingers, making sure Will’s attention was all on her. “Seems to me you don’t wanna let a good thing die, and who could blame you? She’s pretty, funny once you actually got her to open up, and she knows a _lot_ about sex.”

“Yeah,” Will hissed in response, “Because of _Mike._ Her boyfriend. _Who she’s still in a relationship with!”_

“Ah, no, nope!” The Devil laid down the law. “ _Mike_ isn’t here in this town right now. _You_ are.”

Will looked to the Angel. “I don’t see what that has to do with-“

“No, no… she’s got a point.” The tiny reflection of himself pointed at the tiny duplicate of El.

“Boy, you’re just full of helpful advice.” Will angrily muttered.

“Think about it.” The Devil pulled the conversation along. “She’s in the same boat you are. Full of all those troublesome urges with no outlet to work them out. Then you came along and all that was solved. If you stop now, where’s she gonna go to get her fix? Jonathan? Some rando on the street?”

“It should be Mike.” Will insisted. “We could call him out here when-“

“Mike is _hours_ away.” The Devil spoke slowly and succinctly, like she was speaking to a toddler. “He’s not going to be able to make that trip every time, and even if he could, El wouldn’t be able to contain herself long enough for that, and _you_ certainly wouldn’t be able to!”

“We could…” Will stammered. “Get her a dildo?”

The Devil rolled her eyes. “ _Sure._ Because any sex shop would allow a sixteen-year old to walk right in and just buy stuff off the shelf. Or, you could get your mom or Jonathan to buy you one, OH WAIT! If you do _that,_ you have to explain why you need a dildo in the first place, and at that point, you might as well just out yourself! Think, what would be the bigger shock for dear mother?” She looked at each hand. “Finding out her son likes shoving things up his ass, or that he’s been banging his sort-of-not-but-legally sister?”

Will, at a loss for words, looked to the Angel.

“I…” The Angel resignedly began. “I have no idea where she learned that sort of language.”

“I learned it because I’m a part of _him,”_ The Devil pointed to Will, “Moron. We _both_ are.” She huffed, looking to Will properly. “Look, think about it… You’ll be doing _Mike_ a favor by keeping his girlfriend happy while he’s away, you’ll be doing _El_ a favor by being her boy toy, and you’ll be doing _yourself_ a favor by not bottling up your urges until they reach the point of exploding.”

Will looked to the Angel for guidance.

The tiny version of Will shrugged, wings flapping as he did so. “All these are _very_ good points.”

The Devil placed her head on her hand, looking all innocent like she couldn’t do anything wrong. “Come on, Will. You’ve been so focused on making sure others don’t get hurt for so long… isn’t it time you did something for _yourself_ for a change?”

Will remained frozen for a moment. “…I mean… It has been a long time since anything just went my way.” He admitted.

The Devil smiled. “Exactly.” She vanished in a puff of smoke, before a set of hands wrapped around Will’s torso, and a set of lips approached his ear. “Besides…” She continued, hot breath tickling Will’s neck. “You can’t hide anything from me. I know _exactly_ what you really want… subconscious, remember?”

“…yeah.” Will forced out.

“And think of it this way.” The Devil gently brushed the Angel away altogether, leaving just her and Will. “It’s the ultimate payback.”

“P-Payback?” Will repeated.

“You remember…” The Devil teasingly replied. “Mike threw your oldest and deepest insecurity back in your face, just when you were starting to get over it.” She rubbed a finger up and down Will’s chest. “Fucking his girlfriend behind his back really outta show him, won’t it?”

“…I forgave him.” Will hoarsely replied.

“Did you, Will?” The Devil asked, her fingers slinking down to his pants. “Did you really?”

Will gulped, as the odd amalgam of the darker sides of his subconscious spun him around, pressing her lips to his, before pushing him onto the couch.

His pants and underwear were _gone._ No clue how that had happened.

The Devil slinked over to Will like a cat, her own pants having suddenly vanished, as she climbed onto Will.

“Now…” The Devil huskily whispered, lowering herself onto Will’s stiff rod.

Will shook and spasmed, grabbing onto her to try to keep himself steady, as her hips began to rock back and forth.

“Mmm…” The Devil licked her lips, before slowly licking the corner of Will’s jaw. “You’re a _much_ better lay than that pitiable excuse for an Angel.”

Will blinked. Was this what was _actually_ happening?

…No, wait, he was dreaming. That was an excuse, he supposed. Well, if it was a dream, he could throw caution to the wind, he supposed.

His hands flew down to her thighs, and he began to push up, in sync with the movement of her hips.

The Devil panted, grip on Will’s shoulders tightening as they both sped up.

“Very good…” The Devil breathlessly complimented, pressing her lips to Will’s once she felt herself begin to come.

Will returned it by slipping his tongue past her blood-red lips, as he filled her for all she was worth.

The Devil chuckled, pulling away. “Now… go get her, tiger.”


	4. Chapter 4

If there's one good thing Will can say that came out of finally giving into his urges fully, he feels sort of… light. It's no longer a struggle to push El off him when she gets in the mood. Rather, he lets her do what she wants, they finish, and they both go about their days. Life continues on as normal otherwise, school happens, the sun still rises and sets, the world keeps turning.

Of course, there _is_ that constant nagging at the back of his mind that whispers to him in hateful tones phrases such as _'You know you're taking advantage of her.'_

He tries to ignore them as best he can. He's not taking advantage of her. The _one, one_ time he initiated anything was at the very beginning, everything else that followed was started by El, he just… didn't resist it anymore.

It's more of a resignation than anything else.

But, Will can breathe easy at least. Cutting loose and just giving in right when it starts is much more _fun_ too.

Like, for instance, this one time El ambushed Will in the bath. She doesn't like baths, always preferred showers.

And yet, she stripped down and climbed right in next to him like it was the most comfortable thing in the world for her to do.

By the end of it, there was more water _out_ of the tub than there was in it.

El let out a content sigh, flopping against Will, the boy still sheathed inside of her despite the relief. "I love you, Will."

He tries not to think about how much of a _bad_ thing that statement is. She loves Mike, she _lusts_ Will.

And he can't bring himself to try and correct her anymore.

* * *

Then, just when things were starting to look up for Will, only a week after he let himself fall fully into his dark urges, it all went awry.

The two were at the table, eating dinner. Joyce was sitting at the table with them (Jonathan was working late), and the conversation was proceeding as usual fare. Talking about the day, if anything interesting had happened, small talk.

El had finished first. Despite her petite frame, she was always a ravenous eater. Came from being locked in the lab and deprived of food, Will supposed.

As the other three went through their dinner, El strode over to the freezer and grabbed a popsicle out of it, sitting back down, listening intently as Joyce was talking about the upcoming plans for Christmas.

Will was trying to listen to his mother speaking when a motion out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.

_She was trying to deepthroat a god damn popsicle._

Will coughed, dropping his fork on the plate, as Joyce looked up from the Sears catalog, gasping.

"El!" The woman's eyes widened. "You can't eat it like that!"

El pulled the popsicle from her mouth, innocently tilting her head. "Why not?"

"Because…" Joyce stuttered. "It's going to block your airways."

"It's ice." El blinked. "It'll melt."

"W-" Joyce spluttered. "Well, yeah, but… just… don't do it, okay?" She smiled kindly, phrasing it more like a question even though it was a command.

El shrugged. "Fine." She went back to licking the outside.

Will let out a relieved sigh, smacking his forehead on the table. No awkward conversations tonight, thank you.

"So, El…" Joyce tried to change the subject. "I've got a bit of a surprise for you."

El looked intrigued. "Surprise?"

The woman nodded, smiling knowingly. "Guess who's coming this weekend?"

Will felt his blood turn to ice, as El gasped. His mother only used that tone of voice when talking to El about one person…

The dreaded. The feared. The one who's name was whispered in hushed tones andThat' was probably soon to be Will's mortal enemy…

Michael Wheeler.

El's face lit up like a bonfire, or one of those laser-display things that they held concerts at during the middle of the night. "Mike!? Mike's coming to visit!?"

It had been months since she'd seen Mike. Weeks since this whole mess started…

It figures that the moment Will started feeling at least semi-alright about the whole thing, someone came along to ruin it.

Then, that was par for the course with Mike. Why, this one time, the party was exploring an abandoned mineshaft when Mike threw a bunch of-

"I thought it was only for big stuff!" El peppily stated. "Like thanksgiving."

Joyce chuckled slightly, shaking her head. "Well, Nancy was coming to visit Jonathan, and when he heard, he apparently begged her into bringing him along."

"That's…" Will swallowed. "Great. When's he coming down?"

Joyce smiled. "Friday. You excited to see him too?"

Friday. That left two days.

_Two days_ to fix the mess he got himself into and do it in a way that left El intact as a person and in a way that left _Will's_ bones intact.

Goddammit, two days was _not_ enough time.

He should've just quit while he was ahead.

* * *

Will anxiously paced around, shaking like he was caught out in the cold. He'd been resilient to low temperatures ever since… well, you know what.

But no, the shivering was more out of fear than anything else.

He wondered, ruminating on what to do. He _had_ to tell El. Not to save his own bacon or anything, but because if it came down to it, he couldn't destroy hers and Mike's relationship. He'd shoulder all the blame if it meant something, _anything_ could be salvaged out of this, even if it wasn't on Will's end.

That always was one of his best, and worst, traits. Self-sacrifice like that… best case scenario, he'd end up in the hospital in a body cast, worst-case…

He couldn't fathom it at the moment. Mike might never want to talk to him again, in _either_ scenario, and El…

Everything Will did before, to help her move on from Hopper's death, it'd all be tainted. It'd ruin her.

"Will?" His mother asked quietly and confused, bedraggled.

Will jumped, whipping around.

"What're you doing up?" Joyce wondered. "Is everything okay?"

Will contemplated answering that he'd just had a rough dream, or was thirsty, or something along those lines…

But it was all too much. He was at his wits end.

Better tell her now, before she found out from someone else.

"Mom…" Will anxiously swallowed. "I think… I've done something horrible."

* * *

It was disconcerting, just how calm his mother was as he explained the situation.

Calm, however, didn't necessarily mean lenient. The entire time, he could see her eyes get steely as he outlined what went down.

On some level, he wished she'd raise her voice, because that would be an expected reaction, but no. She never raised her voice, never slammed her hands against anything, never did… anything.

She was just calm, in the worst sort of way.

By the end of it, Will was staring at the floor, as Joyce clenched her jaw, looking on.

"…How long has this been going on?" Joyce quietly demanded.

"…two, three weeks?" Will answered, unsure of the number himself. "Maybe a month."

"And in that time, not once, _once_ did you think it was a good idea to stop?" Joyce seethed.

"I did…" Will insisted. "I just… wasn't strong enough. I knew it had to stop, I just…"

In a way, quiet anger was much, much worse. Loud anger meant someone was trying to get you to listen, quiet anger meant they were truly furious.

"You kept doing it _anyway_." Joyce frustratedly rubbed her face, "Will… disappointment doesn't even _begin_ to describe what I'm feeling right now. No language on the _planet_ would be able to articulate the level of unhappiness."

"I-" Will anxiously stuttered. "I know I messed up-"

"It goes beyond 'messing up!'" Joyce angrily retorted. "The first time, I can get, but every time afterward!? It's a conscious decision at that point! It doesn't matter if she started it, by choosing to let it happen, you might as well have been-"

"I know, I know…" Will held his head in his hands.

"No, you _don't_ know!" Joyce threw back. "I took that girl in because she needed help, no one else was willing to help her out… and you took advantage of her! Once this all this is said and done, she's going to have trust issues, and that's the _least_ of our worries. You had every chance to explain to her why what she wanted wasn't a good idea, and you stayed quiet so you could keep doing it..." She shook her head in disappointment.

Will couldn't think of anything to say for a few moments. "…so, what's going to happen now?"

"You're going to _fix_ this mess." Joyce poked him in the sternum for emphasis. "You're going to go and apologize to her, tell her _exactly_ what you've done and why it was wrong, and let her make her own decision if she wants to forgive you or not. Not right now, but before Mike gets here… and you're going to tell _him_ too."

Will paled. "Mom, I can't-"

"You can, and you're _going_ to." Joyce commanded, turning on her heel to go back to her bedroom. "Else, you're going to have more than him to worry about."

Will clutched his face in terror.

When did his life become so fucked?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What do you call it when your own subconscious is manipulating you?
> 
> You call it "Being Will Byers"

The morning after Will had confessed to his mom, things were… not calm. It was like a shadow hung over the house. Even though Joyce had left for work (she probably should’ve stayed but she was on the schedule and she could not afford to lose her job), Will felt as if she was watching him.

Good… that meant he could do what he needed to do, at last.

He didn’t wake El, choosing instead to wait for her to come out of her room on her own terms.

Soon enough, after about two hours of him being awake, Will could hear her door open and shut, and the gentle thudding of her feet on the carpet as she came to the living room.

She sat down next to him, and smiled, going to press a kiss to his cheek.

Will shied out of the way quickly.

“Will?” El tilted her head. “What’s wrong?”

Will took a deep breath, psyching himself up. “El… there’s something I need to tell you, and it’s not easy for me to do… But it has to stop.”

El frowned in confusion. “What does?”

“You know, this!” He gestured. “The kissing, the sex… I’m not your boyfriend.”

“You _are_ though.”

“No!” Will insisted. “Mike is! El, a boyfriend isn’t like a regular friend, you can’t have more than one!”

El crossed her arms. “Why not?”

“Excuse me!?”

“Why not?” El repeated.

“Well, some people do, but not us!” Will replied. “And even if that were true, I’m not deserving of it!”

El cocked her head. “How come?”

“ _Because,_ ” Will continued. “I took advantage of you.”

El blinked, sitting at attention. “What?”

“That first night, when I kissed you…” Will gulped, ready to explain. “It was hormones, on both ends. A one-time thing. But it wasn’t it went further, remember?”

“Yes…” El recalled with a smile. “The coffee table, the couch, the bathtub, my bed, your bed…”

“El, stop!” Will ordered. “That’s _not_ okay! I should’ve gotten you to stop then and there, but I _didn’t_. Every time you and I did it, that meant that I _knowingly_ kept from telling you the truth, and I used that.”

El frowned. “I don’t understand.”

Will sighed. “Look, El… I can’t keep doing this. Not when your happiness is on the line. You love Mike, I get it, and I was using something he said to keep doing what I wanted with you.”

El shook her head. “No, but… I wanted it.”

“Wanting it doesn’t make it okay.” Will replied. “Hormones make you do things. You may have wanted it in the moment, but… I don’t know. I should’ve just stopped it, and… I don’t know, told Mike I guess. He deserves that, at least.”

El tilted her head. “But I told Mike.”

Will inhaled, stiffening, as he looked to El, questioningly. “You… _told_ Mike?”

El nodded. “Yes. I told him you were my boyfriend now too because you and I did it like me and he did, and I was happy.”

It made sense… if she phoned Mike when Will gave up all resistance, that left a week for Mike to plan the trip to kick Will’s ass, which lined up _perfectly_ with what Joyce said at the dinner table.

‘…’

Welp, time to go sign his own death certificate.

* * *

El, mercifully, stopped her advances upon Will the moment he confessed. She didn’t have much of a sense of boundaries still, but she could tell when Will was genuinely not in the mood.

Now all that was left to do was wait until Friday, and the bells to toll.

Joyce isn’t talking to him. Will doesn’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing.

And Jonathan had no clue what was going on and why. It was like… that scene from Star Wars where Alderaan was destroyed and Obi-Wan could feel the deaths through the Force. Only it’s one death, and it’s _impending_ instead of happening right now.

All Will could do was isolate himself in his room and wait for Mike (and thereby death) to come.

“Welp, you _are_ in a pickle, aren’t you?” The Devil on Will’s shoulder suddenly appeared.

He must’ve fallen asleep.

The tiny duplicate of El checked out her nails. “Then again, it’s not like I had to tell you that.”

“Shut up.” Will venomously spat. “I’m in this situation to begin with because of you.”

“No, you’re in this situation to begin with because of your urges.” The Devil corrected.

“I lob those in with you.” Will replied. “The parts of myself I don’t like, isn’t that what you said?”

“Hm…” The Devil smiled. “Technically, I said ‘the darker sides of your subconscious,’ but yes.”

“Where’s the other one?” Will questioned, looking at the wall. “I’d much rather be talking to him right now.”

“Indisposed.” The Devil crossed her arms. “You’re stuck with me…” She gave a sultry smile.

“Cut it out.” Will ordered. “I’m not in the mood.”

“But you _were_ in the mood.” The Devil whispered in his ear. “That’s how all this started… poor little Will Byers, so desperate to scratch an itch, he wound up betraying his oldest, deepest friend, taking advantage of the girl who saved his life… and now you’re going to be beaten to within an inch of your life. Well, that’s just desserts, isn’t it?”

“…I can live with that.” Will whispered. “As long as El doesn’t get any flak directed at her. And certainly not from Mike. She loves him more than anything else… it’d destroy her if he got mad with her.”

The Devil let out a frustrated huff. “All this drama and you still have no clue.”

Will’s head snapped to face her. “Don’t patronize me.”

“Will,” The Devil rolled her eyes, “You helped out El when she needed it most, when Mike couldn’t be there for her. When you kissed her, instead of shying away like anybody else, she returned it. On purpose.”

“…yeah, I know. That’s how this whole kerfuffle started.”

“You think she’d return a kiss and bang because of _just_ hormones? Get real!” The Devil let out a long-suffering sigh. “She loves you too, moron.”

“No, she loves Mike.” Will corrected.

“ _No,_ ” The Devil insisted. “She loves you _and_ Mike.”

Will huffed, flopping back. “Well, know I know I’m dreaming.”

“Will, I’m your feminine side too,” She stated. “I know these things.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Will replied. “I couldn’t ask her to choose.”

“Who said she had to choose?”

“…Don’t be ridiculous, it’d never work out.”

“Will…” The Devil leaned into Will’s ear. “Don’t lie to me. I know _exactly_ the way you feel about Mike… Why else would I look like El of all people? Admit it. You’re more than just a little curious.”

“…I mean, yeah.” Will granted. “But like he’d ever give me a chance now that I’ve done his girlfriend.”

“Oh, you never know.” The Devil laid down on Will’s shoulder. “Mike could never stay mad at _us_ for long.” She said, running her tiny hand along Will’s jaw. “Even when we fucked up _really_ bad.”

“Us?” Will repeated. “We?”

“I’m _all_ the urges you’ve ever had. I’ve always been a part of you, Will…” The Devil told him. “You just hadn’t noticed me until now.”

Will swallowed. “You think I- …we, have a chance?”

“More than a chance.” The Devil replied. “He’s going to be angry first, but then, after he beats us into a bloody pulp and is getting all emotional because of it, _that’s_ when you tell him.”

“…do I have to be beaten up?”

“Yes.” The Devil answered. “It’s less than what we deserve, honestly.”

“…right…” Will took a breath. “Okay… I know what needs to happen.”

“Good.” The Devil approved. “Now, what do you say we have some _fun_?”

* * *

When Will woke up the next morning he felt… calm. Resigned.

What was going to happen was going to happen. There was nothing he could do to stop it, even if he tried.

Maybe he should’ve wanted to stop it… but no, this was his comeuppance. This is what he deserved.

He’s going to burn in hell for what he did, maybe it would be good to prepare for the pain here on Earth. Then again, if Hell existed, it was the Upside-Down, and that was more along the lines cold and damp than all fire and brimstone.

Regardless… it was a good run, while it lasted. He can’t blame El, not for getting excited and wanting to tell Mike without understanding the repercussions. He can’t blame Mike, not for getting angry.

Will can only blame himself. For letting something so totally innocent spiral out of control into… whatever this is now.

He made himself look presentable and went to the living room.

El was sitting on the floor, cross-legged, watching Star Wars for the dozenth time on the VCR.

She catches Will, smiles and waves.

Will half-heartedly returned it. She should be angry with him. Devastated, yet she isn’t.

Will flopped down on the couch, and El huffed, getting to her feet, before throwing her arms around him.

Will stiffened, waiting for what he knew was going to happen next…

It never came. She didn’t make any movements to his privates, or even kiss him on the lips.

It was just a hug. A pure, innocent hug.

He doesn’t deserve it.

“Everything’s gonna be fine.” El whispered in Will’s ear, like he had done back during the start, when Hopper had just passed away.

El pulled back, smiling gently, before turning back to the TV.

…what was going on inside her head?

A knock came at the door, and El excitedly squealed, shooting to her feet to answer it, as Will gulped.

The door opened, and Will could see his doom on the other side.

Mike was there.


	6. Chapter 6

Will can practically _feel_ Mike’s rage in the air, like humidity. It’s fiery and hateful, all of it directed at Will.

“Mike!” El smiled radiantly, running into his arms, before kissing him intensely.

“Hey, El.” Mike returned, embracing her. Good. He wasn’t angry at El, at least. Then again, Will didn’t think it was physically possible for Mike to be mad at her.

Mike glared at Will, and Will shrunk slightly, as Nancy quietly slipped in, evidently having been made aware of the situation, before slinking silently off to Jonathan’s room.

Good. Less witnesses.

“El…” Mike gently pushed her away, staring at Will. “Can Will and I talk? Alone?”

The girl rolled her eyes, but acquiesced, going to help Joyce in the kitchen.

“Your room…” Mike shook with anger once El was out of sight. “ _Now.”_

* * *

“You slept with her!” Mike threw the moment the door shut behind them.

Will sighed, sitting on his bed. “Yeah.”

“Yeah!?” Mike repeated. “You slept with El, _my_ girlfriend, and all you can say is ‘yeah!?’ I can’t believe this!” Mike yelled. “You were my friend, Will, my best friend, and then you go and do this!?”

Will couldn’t keep his snappy retort held back. “Friends? I didn’t think that was the case when you threw _that_ in my face!”

“Threw what!?”

“’It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!’” Will quoted, pointing.

“You’re focused on _that_!?” Mike incredulously stated. “Get serious, Will, this isn’t about you!”

“Oh, that’s just _fantastic!”_ Will angrily retorted. “If it’s not about me, then who is it about, huh!? El!? You!?”

“Goddammit Will!” Mike seethed. “You’re being an asshole right now! You and El have been fucking behind my back, I had to find out from her, and you can’t even say _sorry!?_ You’re a bastard, a sick bastard!”

“That’s fine!” Will spat. “Call me whatever you want, but while _you_ were busy running like a coward, _I_ was making sure she was actually happy!”

Mike pinned Will against the wall. “Shut up! Shut up!”

“It took you ages to finally talk to her again!” Will continued. “You waited until moving day, the _last_ possible second!”

“I was trying to give her time!”

“You gave her time!” Will replied. “But you weren’t there when she needed you the most! _I_ was, not you! I was the one who helped her in the middle of the night when her own nightmares woke her up, I was the one who got her started healing, not you, Mike!” He screamed. “And I never, _ever_ expected to get anything for it! I not _once_ asked her for anything, or pressured!”

Mike stood, shaking with rage, balled his fist “You kissed her!”

“I did.” Will admitted. “But I didn’t pressure anything out of her. She did it herself, Mike, because I was the only one she could turn to! Because YOU! WEREN’T! THERE!”

Mike roared with fury and swung his arm.

* * *

A crash echoed throughout the house, and El looked to Joyce.

“Will.” They both said, minds going to the worst outcome.

The two charged down the hallway, Nancy and Jonathan emerging from his room half-dressed and in a panic.

Joyce jiggled the doorknob, as another crash and pained grunt reverberated throughout. One of them had locked the door.

“Here, let me!” Nancy raised her foot, still clad in a tennis shoe, and kicked the area above the knob, the door flying open.

The four entered as Mike rammed Will into the wall head-first.

“RRRRAGH!” Will roared like a wild animal, kicking Mike in the shin, sending him to the floor.

“Holy shit, Mike!” Nancy yelled.

Will dove onto the floor, about to go whaling on Mike, as the boy rolled out of the way. Will hit the floor and Mike spun him over, going to town on his face.

“Will!” Joyce ran in, as splatters of blood were sent flying.

El stood there, frozen in horror at the sight before her.

“Don’t just stand there!” Joyce commanded the others, as she tried to break up the fight.

The other three were sent into action, Nancy and El pulling Mike away from Will, while Jonathan and Joyce kept Will held in place even as he kept trying to lunge at Mike.

Will had expected things to get this bad, yes, but seeing El standing back, looking more shocked and appalled than he’d ever seen her…

It destroyed him.

* * *

The emergency room, fortunately, is going through a slow day.

Despite the fight only lasting a few minutes at the most, Will and Mike had done enough damage to each other to necessitate a hospital visit.

Mike had fared better out of the two, with a broken leg and a giant gash down one arm being the worst damage he’d sustained.

Will was… not as unscathed. He got a concussion from where Mike had slammed his head into the wall, his face was bruised and bloodied to the point where he looked more like a corpse than anything else, and his nose was broken.

Mike’s mom had been notified, and while she was worried if he was alright, was much more concerned about the damage he’d caused.

Will sighed as much as he could, glancing over to Mike’s hospital bed. They’d been lobbed in the same room. Extra punishment, it seemed.

“Mike?” Will addressed hoarsely, forcing himself to speak up. “I didn’t do it to hurt you.”

“Like that makes it any better.” The Wheeler boy seethed in response, not looking back.

“Yeah, I know…” Will looked on. “I was being selfish, not explaining to El what made it wrong… but trust me. Not _once_ did I do it to get back at you. I thought about it… but I never did.”

“Then why?” Mike questioned jaw set in a grimace. “If you didn’t want to hurt me, why’d you keep doing it?”

“…I could never say no to El.” Will reflected, quietly looking upon the girl asleep in the hospital chair. The others were out, madly scrambling to find a way to pay the hospital bills, but El?

El had been by their sides the whole time.

“She saved my life…” Will said, tearing up. “I owe her more than I could ever repay… I think I might’ve been deluding myself. I kissed her, yeah, but… I thought maybe she might’ve actually liked me back instead of it being a hormone thing…” He looked down, shaking his head. “Stupid me.”

Mike looked at Will, still angry, but curious. “You _like_ her?”

“…Yep.” Will shrugged sadly. “…I kept doing it, because I liked it. Cause… well… she was a connection, I suppose.”

“Will…” Mike seethed. “You better start making sense, right now.”

Will licked his lips, thinking. No better time to do it. Mike would never want to speak to him again, regardless.

Might as well get it off his chest a while.

“Mike… I’ve known you for a long time.” Will began. “Right?”

“Since kindergarten.” Mike replied, not sounding too happy.

“And… we’ve been through a lotta shit.” Will continued, sighing. “Together… You know, when I was stuck in the Upside Down, there was one thought that kept me going.”

Mike blinked, raising an eyebrow.

“…it was you.” Will confessed, looking away. “I survived because I _had_ to… I had to get back to see you again.”

“…Will?”

Will took a deep breath. “I love you, Mike. Just like El loves you. Just like how I love her. I know that doesn’t make what I did right-“

“Will?”

“Or that this means you’re suddenly going to forgive me-“

“Will.”

“Or that things are going to go back to how they were before-“

“Will!” Mike finally shouted, and Will flinched.

“I just…” Will sighed. “I thought you should know. Before I never get the chance to say it.”

Mike stayed silent for a couple of moments. “…You know, when you were stuck in the Upside Down, Dustin and Lucas hadn’t really wanted to look for you at first. It was all me.”

Will furrowed his eyebrows. “They didn’t?”

Mike shook his head. “I had to call them up on the supercoms and drag them out to look for you. That was the night we found El… She helped us look for you, you know.”

“Yeah.”

“Even when they pulled that body out of the quarry…” Mike continued. “I only gave up for a little while. That whole time… mostly the only thing I could think about was bringing you home.”

Will felt his face go pink as considered Mike’s words. Did he dare hope?

“I suppose… what I’m trying to say is…” Mike swallowed. “I love you too, Will.”

Will’s heart could’ve stopped. “You… really?”

“…It’s difficult sometimes,” Mike slowly replied, “And I didn’t know how to put it into words… but yeah. You’ll always be my friend, Will, even if you did the most horrible thing on Earth.”

“You… forgive me?” Will dared to hope.

Mike thinned his lips and nodded.

“I don’t…” Will sniffled. “I don’t deserve it.”

“You don’t.” Mike concurred. “You betrayed me… you betrayed my trust… You betrayed our friendship and everything we ever stood for.”

“Then… why?”

“…Do you think I care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference?”

Will took shaky breaths as he felt himself tear up.

“Aw, no, no, come on!” Mike groaned as Will pushed himself out bed, limping over in his rush to embrace Mike. “Ack!” He grunted in pain.

“Sorry.” Will apologized. “I would kiss you, but, um…” He gestured to his bruised face. “You probably don’t wanna deal with all this mess.”

Mike rolled his eyes. “Just shut up.” He ordered, pulling Will in.

Slumped over in the chair, listening to the sound of lips against lips with her head tilted down, El smiled.

She was awake, of course she was awake, she’d never went to sleep in the first place.

Why was she just sitting there observing, do you ask? Well, Will and Mike needed their moment. And it was to ensure that everything worked out.

Oh, you hadn’t realized by now?

_El had a plan._

It all went something like this. El had been immensely, _immensely_ grateful to Will for helping her through the time after Hopper’s death, to the point where she started genuinely feeling the same way around him as she did Mike.

At the time, it was all terribly confusing, and a little bit frightening. Because while she’d said differently to Will later, she’d been told (By Max, not Mike, so it wasn’t like she’d technically lied.) that when people got boyfriends and girlfriends, it was a one-to-one pairing, and El had no idea how to reconcile her love for Mike and her newfound feelings towards Will.

She’d loved Mike because he was her first. The first being she’d ever seen that was her own age, and the first one to show her kindness without asking for something out of her in return.

She’d loved Will because he was there for her when she needed someone the most, and much like Mike the first go around, he did it without any hope of a reward, but just because he’d wanted her to be happy again.

Max had then told her there were tons of people in polyamorous relationships, even if they didn’t share that fact with the outside world. She’d told El that it was possible to love both Mike and Will with the same intensity, if it wasn’t strictly for the same reasons. She just used the one-to-one example as a baseline, because it was ‘normal,’ whatever normal was at that point.

El didn’t know what to do, in any case. She wanted both of them, but she didn’t know how to achieve that. Then, Will had kissed her, they had done it in his bed, and she got an idea.

It was all very similar to what she’d glimpsed in one of Mrs. Wheeler’s romance novels during a sneaky visit to Mike’s house. In that one, a woman had fallen in love with two men, and one of the men harbored feelings for the other. The woman let it slip to one of the men that the other was having a relationship with her, the men had gotten into a fight, but they realized that they loved each other as well.

Spooky how works of fiction in the Wheeler house mirrored reality sometimes.

Anyhow, El had feelings for both Mike and Will, strong ones, but she didn’t know if Mike or Will felt the same way about the other.

According to Dustin, the answer was: ‘Yeah, totally. Me and Lucas are taking bets on whether or not it’ll happen. Lemme know, would ya?’

So, all that had to happen was Mike had to find out, he and Will would get into a fight, Will would confess his feelings while he had the chance, and they could all live happily ever after!

In all seriousness, not that El had truly realized it, she was playing with _Fire._ The real world is not a trashy romance/fairytale novel. Things very rarely, if ever, work out like that.

But, this one time… it looked like it was.

El felt proud of herself, actually. She had her boys all straightened out now, she got to keep both of them, and while Joyce was mad at Will for taking advantage of El (which was a fallacy. El had known _exactly_ what was going on every step of the way, and could’ve stopped it if she’d wanted), the woman would no doubt loosen up about it now that things were being worked out between the three of them.

Mission accomplished.


	7. Kiss and Make Up and Epilogue

When the Will and Mike get released from the hospital… all bets are off. El’s shooting the two hungry glances every couple of seconds, and it looks like it takes every ounce of effort in her not to jump one of them then and there.

She holds it back, to the best of her ability, granted. But when the others go to bed…

Well, let’s just say it’s playtime.

Will had been sleeping on the bed, Mike laying in the opposite direction, when El had come in, wearing her bathrobe.

“They asleep?” Will mouthed.

El grinned and nodded.

Mike rose up, looking excited. “Then let’s do it.”

El let her robe fall to the ground, revealing herself to be totally bare underneath, before she walked over and climbed onto the bed, silhouetted in the moonlight leaking through the window.

Will sat up next, breathing eagerly, as El worked to remove his pants first, letting his cock jump free. Up next was Mike, looking like he’d been waiting so long to get back to it.

“Hm…” El looked at the two stiff pricks. “Kiss.” She ordered, taking one in each hand.

As El’s hands moved up and down, Will and Mike looked at each other, both boys pressing their lips together like lost lovers.

They didn’t last long, and shortly enough, spurts of jizz from the two were sent flying out, over El’s bare skin.

El giggled, as Mike and Will broke, pulling back. Placing her lower half over Will, she let her body fall, and felt him slip into her, as she took Mike’s length into her mouth.

“Ah…” Mike moaned, rubbing the back of El’s head, feeling her brown hair already becoming damp with sweat.

Will said nothing, huffing as he bucked into El, trying to keep the sound of their slapping down to a minimum. Before long, he felt himself go stiff, unloading another round directly into her womb.

El released Mike’s cock with pop, repositioning herself so she was laying on top of Will with her back to him, presenting herself to Mike.

Mike pushed into El from the top, as Will went in from below, El gasping like a fish out of water as both thrust into her.

“Ah!” El gasped, arching up into Mike’s hips, as Will took her from below. Her hand felt around, grasping Will’s hand, as her other took one of Mike’s.

“I just want to tell you both:” El breathlessly began. “Good luck. We’re all counting on you.”

Mike looked horribly confused. “Was that supposed to be funny?”

“Oh, just shut up and do it.”

All as one, the three came.

Mike practically collapsed, falling out of El, rolling onto the mattress. El smiled, pushing herself off of Will, going for the small space in between.

With Will on one side of her, Mike on the other, and both pressed so close to her she probably didn’t strictly need the blanket to keep warm, El fell into the best sleep she’d ever had.

\-----------

“…And I’ll come back for New Year’s.” Mike motored off, as Nancy sat in the car, looking supremely impatient. “And when I do, we can all go see Clue or something.”

El smiled, nodding happily. “Okay.”

“And I’ll make sure to save up enough to call.” Mike continued.

“Alright.”

“And I’ll-“

“Mike.” El cut him off, giving him a chaste kiss on the lips. “I love you too.”

Mike smiled, as El stepped back, and he turned to Will. “I’m sorry… For beating the crap outta you.”

“It’s alright.” Will rubbed his still-healing nose. “I deserved it.”

“No.” Mike retorted. “You didn’t. Because… you were right. I wasn’t there for her.” He thinned his lips.

“That’s not your fault.”

“It isn’t… doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck.” Mike replied.

“…I’ll miss you.” Will swallowed, the words he’d wanted to say all the way back in October finally hitting with their intended effect.

“I’ll miss you too, Will.” Mike glanced around, before kissing Will on the lips. He didn’t have to worry about Nancy or the others seeing, but they were outside, any random stranger could’ve seen.

Then again, they could just mind their own damn business.

Mike pulled both of them into a hug. “I’ll see you guys soon.” He pulled back, trying to smile, as he walked to the car and climbed in.

El took Will’s hand in her own, and they watched, waving as Mike and Nancy disappeared into the distance.

El looked to Will with a slight smile, allowing her head to fall on his shoulder, as they walked back inside.

\-----------

The years go by, as years do. They grow, forge new friendships, keep the old ones intact…

The Soviet Union had collapsed, the decade of communism and cassette tapes had ended, to be replaced with the decade of internet and compact discs. Cell phones are the size of a makeup mirror now, and video games are truly 3D.

But, no matter how much the world changed around them, the three were happy. That’s all Will can say he really wished for.

It was an odd balancing act at first, keeping things balanced between Will and Mike. El loved both and made sure both got her attention.

One day, while Mike was at work (Will worked from home doing art for comic books, and El did travel articles), Will and El danced together in the living room of their house. No reason, no special occasion, they just felt like it.

“Hey.” Will murmured into El’s ear. He had a question. One he thought of often, but never really posed to her aloud.

“Yes?” El replied, head resting on his shoulder.

“You ever wonder what things would’ve been like?” He asked. “If I had never kissed you that night?”

“No.” El answered immediately, as the song switched to Endless Love.

“Oh?” Will raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”

“Because,” El serenely began, “I wasn’t going to let you pass by that easily.”

“…huh?”

“You kissed me, yes,” El outlined, “But I figured out I loved you before that. Even if you hadn’t kissed me, I was going to make sure it happened.”

Will frowned. “You mean… you were going to seduce me even before all that?”

“Oh, way more than that…” El replied, the two swaying in unison.

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, I knew you loved Mike too.” El answered, whispering into his ear. “I figured if I was going to bring you in, I should’ve tied up loose ends.”

“…please don’t tell me that’s a euphemism for murder.”

El laughed, still just as melodic as it had been the first time. “Of course not. Misses Wheeler had all those trashy romance novels all over the place, at her house, remember?”

“Yeah.” Will chuckled. “That woman is many things… someone with good taste in literature isn’t one of them.”

“Like you’re any better. Two words: Roald Dahl.” El shot back.

“Hey, it’s childish, but at least he’s a good writer.” Will fired in retort.

El rolled her eyes. “ _Anyway_. I found one of them while I was visiting Mike one night and took a peek. Then you kissed me, and we made love that very first time, and I figured since it was like the book, I could get things to work out like the book.”

“…You called Mike.” Will put together. “You knew exactly what you were doing when you told him I was your boyfriend too!”

“Of course I did.” El retorted. “I’m not stupid. And I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t know things were going to work out in the end.”

“…yeah, you told me as much.” Will remembered, laughing. “Goddammit, I was terrified! I thought Mike was gonna kill me!”

“And you almost killed Mike, that makes you even.” El calmly replied. “If it’s any help, I wasn’t going to let him do anything beyond beating you up.”

“So, what you’re saying is, our entire relationship is because you hatched a clever plan stolen from a romance novel.” Will shook his head in good humor. “Plagiarism is a crime, you know.”

El exasperatedly huffed. “Oh, shut up. You know it all worked out.”

“I do… you stubborn, manipulative, devil…” He murmured, going to kiss her on the neck.

The song was broken by a high-pitched cry coming from the baby monitor.

“And there goes Terry again.” El sighed, pulling back from Will.

“Hey,” Will threw his hands out, “I gave you advanced warning, babies love interrupting at the worst moments.”

“It’s your fault too.” El pointed, ducking into the nursery. “You need a man and a woman to make a child!”

Will held up a finger. “It _might_ be my fault. We didn’t get a test to check if it was me or Mike, remember?”

“Oh, sure…” El rolled her eyes, bouncing the little child in her arms, getting her to calm down. “Whenever she does something extremely cute, she’s one-hundred percent yours, but when she’s interrupting, you have no clue who the father is.”

Will laughed, shaking his head, as he played with the baby’s hand. “Doesn’t matter if I’m her father or not… She’s still my kid.”

El smiled, kissing Will. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Will smiled, and then frowned.

“What is it?”

“…a trashy romance novel? Seriously?”


End file.
